The present invention generally relates to an entertainment apparatus for generating and outputting sound and video signals, more particularly, an entertainment apparatus and monitor device mountable thereon for generating and outputting such as sound signals and video signals by reading out information from a recording medium.
An entertainment apparatus serves to play games and to reproduce music and images. One of this type of entertainment apparatuses, in the concrete, a game, CD or DVD player, reads out information from a record medium such as, for example, CD (Compact Disk), DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) and DVD-ROM (DVD Read Only Memory), to generate and output sound and video signals.
Among the above, an entertainment apparatus reading out information from an optical disk comprises a disk device including an optical pick-up portion, a circuit board where a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an image processing unit are mounted, and a casing for containing the above. In this type of entertainment apparatus, the image and/or sound information recorded on the optical disk are detected by the optical pick-up portion and then processed for calculating by the CPU or image processing unit to generate and output the image and/or sound signals. An external display device reproduces the image and/or sound information recorded on the optical disk by means of the image and/or sound signals.
Many of such entertainment apparatuses are usually arranged to be connected with a television set to be used as a display device. That is because most of users of such entertainment apparatus, especially domestic users, have the television set. Namely, using a television set as a display device allows removing of a particular display device, so that the compact and inexpensive apparatus can be provided.
This type of entertainment apparatus, however, is being increasingly used as a personal apparatus rather than a home apparatus as it becomes more popular. This would result in a desire to enjoy playing games and reproducing images and music without connecting to a television set. Further, when one person watches television on a television set originally, other person cannot play games on the same television set, so that there is a need to develop an entertainment apparatus which serves to play games and such without a television set.
An object of the present invention is to provide an entertainment apparatus that is able to display image and reproduce sound with and without a television set to be connected.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a monitor device for displaying images and reproducing sound in the entertainment apparatus.
To achieve the above objects, in a first embodiment according to the present invention,
an entertainment apparatus for generating and outputting sound and video signals includes:
an apparatus body for generating and outputting sound and video signals; and
a monitor device attached to the apparatus body for outputting sound and displaying images based on the sound and video signals outputted from the apparatus body,
wherein
the apparatus body is provided on its topside with a container portion for loading an optical disk and a lid portion capable of opening and closing for covering the container portion, and
the monitor device either overlapping or located away from said lid potion is able to keep its display portion observable from the front of the apparatus body, and is at least rotatably attached to the apparatus body between the locations.
Further, to achieve another object of the present invention, in a second embodiment according to the invention,
a monitor device connected to an apparatus body of an entertainment apparatus for displaying images by video signals outputted from the apparatus comprises:
a monitor potion having a display device for displaying images;
a fixing portion for connecting and fixing the monitor potion to the apparatus body; and
a signal input terminal to be connected to a signal output terminal of the apparatus body when the monitor device is connected and fixed to the apparatus body for receiving signals from the signal output terminal,
wherein the monitor portion and said fixing portion are rotatably connected each other.